


Mystery Kids

by ScorpioLight



Category: Coraline (2009), Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012), Psychonauts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-25 06:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2611235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioLight/pseuds/ScorpioLight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four years after they first came to Gravity Falls, Mabel and Dipper Pines have returned, as they have every year. But this time, they meet some special people they've never seen before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drive Up

Mabel stared intently out the window, her eyes flicking across every pine tree that sped by in a blur. She knew that every turn of those rubber tires of her mom's clanky old station wagon across large chunks of gravel was bringing her and her twin closer to their summer home. Every so often Mabel would hear a very, very soft grunt come from Dipper's direction, as a flap on a big box just behind him would flop down onto his head. Mabel didn't take her eyes off that window. Her hands were clasped together with anticipation in her lap, the car sometimes knocking her knees against the car door. She probably had a bruise on her right knee now, but that was okay. She was wearing knee socks, with patterned hearts climbing up to the top of them, so no one would notice. She squished her face against the window, thinking she saw a sign. But their parents didn't stop the car. The twins both knew that their parents weren't dropping them off at the Mystery Shack. They never did. They would drive them up to Oregon where they would get on the bus to the Shack. They never really knew why. Dipper figured it had to do something with the fact that their dad didn't get along with any of his relatives. Which raised the question, why did he let the twins stay with their Great-Uncle Stan? But that wasn't what Dipper was thinking about now. All he could think of was the book in his hands. It was in the absolute best condition he could keep it, but he had found it pretty much falling apart. It looked pretty good though, considering he had had the thing for four years now. The red cover was faded from the sun, yet the golden colored(Or maybe it was real gold. Dipper still wasn't sure.) six-fingered handprint still gleamed with all of its original beauty, and the three hadn't faded out of the center even slightly. But there were a few pages he had had to staple or tape back in, and he still hadn't gotten all of Mabel's glitter out from inside the book's spine. One of the gold corners on the back cover had fallen off, and another one was on the edge, but kept poking Dipper sharply in the hand. He didn't even open it. He wanted to wait to get back into the town to delve back into its mysteries. He sighed, and moved his almost empty bookbag into his lap to put the journal away. He knew that being seen with one of those three journals out in Gravity Falls instantly made you a target to monsters, ghouls, and worst of all, a demon. "Hey, finally seeing some movement!" Dipper turned to face his sister, who was grinning at him. Her braces still weren't off, but Mabel had always owned them, smiling as wide as she possibly could. "I thought you had died over there." Dipper chuckled. She didn't look too different from when they first came to Gravity Falls. Her Magenta headband now featured a pink bow, she wore jean skirts, and she was taller. Both the twins were pretty much freakishly tall. She still wore sweaters, of course, but they weren't all turtlenecks. The one she wore now was her favorite. It was magenta, and it fell down one shoulder, showing the strap of her bright blue tank top. It had a bright yellow star in the bottom left corner, matching her earrings, except the one on her sweater had a rainbow of orange, green and purple trailing behind it, as well as patterning the tips of her sleeves. Dipper looked much different compared to his first visit. He wore an orange-red button down shirt over a white tee, and a dark jean jacket over that. His hair had grown much longer, and he didn't bother trimming it. His sideburns were coming in well, too. He still wore his pine tree trucker cap, of course. It was his favorite. He always had a pencil or two behind his ear, and he ALWAYS carried his bookbag. Currently, it only had his video camera, but Mabel made it specifically to hold that and Journal 3. Mabel reached over and poked his face. "Uh oh. Mom!" Mabel hollered the last part. "Yes, dear?" Their mother responded from the front seat. "We've been in the car so long Dipper's starting to get scruff!" Dipper laughed, and their mom chuckled. "We're nearly there, mmkay pumpkin?" "Moooommmmm!" The twins groaned in sync. She giggled. "Well we are!" "We're not eight!" Mabel mumbled. High above the car, perched gently on the branch of a tree, someone sat and watched silently and intently as they drove by.


	2. Bad Driver

"MOM HIT THE BRAKES!" Coraline screamed as loud as she could. The car screeched to a halt, and an SUV dashed across the street, nearly taking their bumper off. Coraline, who had been clutching the seat tightly, relaxed a bit, breathing a sigh of relief. "That... Was a close one." Her mother- Her REAL mother, she was happy to say, even though that incident happened four years ago- turned to face the backseat.   
"Everyone okay back there?" She gave them a smile, trying to be reassuring, but was a bit too terrified.   
"We're fine, mom." She looked over and nudged her friend sitting next to her. Wybie could only manage a tiny nod and a squeak coming from his tightly shut lips. "We're fine." Coraline repeated. Her mom turned back to looking out the windshield.   
"I aughts give that lunatic a piece of my mind."  
"Well, they're long gone by now." She looked out the window in the direction the SUV had gone, absentmindedly tugging at her biker gloves. Looking at her, Wybie would have at least chuckled a little, as she was quite a sight(but he was petrified with terror, so he didn't). She was wearing her school uniform, a pleated black skirt, a button down shirt(the buttons were wrapped up in tinfoil), and knee-high stockings. But instead of her uniform Mary-janes, she had donned her favorite pair of bright yellow wellingtons, to match the raincoat tied around her waist, and her cotton tie was untied and draped down her chest. Wybie... Barely looked any different than when they first met. He was taller of course, and a few hairs were beginning to grow out of his chin, but he still wore the same coat, skull gloves, and of course his helmet. He loved that thing. "This guy really is a lunatic!"  
"Huh? Why?" Wybie turned to look, and Coraline pointed out the window.   
"They're coming back." This time the car screeched to a halt as the roads crossed. Coraline kicked her door open, unbuckling herself. She marched out of the car and banged on the driver's seat window. "Open the window, you maniac!" When the driver rolled down the window, Coraline saw it was some jock guy with a very tight shirt. She pointed back at her parents' car. "Okay, what the fuck was that all about? You could have killed us, you goddamned psyco!"  
"Uh..."  
"Uh!? That's all you gotta say!? UH!? We could be dead right now and all you say to that is UH!?"  
"I'm really sorry!" Coraline didn't see the speaker. He was somewhere in the back of the car. She turned as she heard the door open. A boy her age hopped out of the car. He was wearing an old hoodie that looked like it used to be a vibrant cherry red, but it was dulled out with dirt and the sun. He wore ripped jeans with ghosts doodled on them in pencil. His most striking feature, however, was his hair. It was a very dull brown, but it stuck straight up in the air, like he was a cartoon character that had been electrocuted. "Uh, you guys are okay, right?" The boy asked.   
"No thanks to you."  
"Um, if there's any damage to... Well to anything, we're completely able to to pay for it."  
"We're FINE." She spat the last word, obviously furious.   
"Again, I'm really sorry. He's..." The boy pointed at the driver. "A little rusty."  
"I can see that. Is he your weirdo brother or something?"   
"Uh, no. He's just my sister's friend. He's my ride to Gravity Falls." Norman regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth. If he knew one thing, it was not to trust strangers. And according to... Well, the internet, Gravity Falls has some very suspicious activity. And he knew nothing about this blue-haired girl.   
"Gravity Falls?" The girl's expression changed from anger to... Curiosity? Well, that was a relief. She looked like she was about to pound him into the ground. Then she shrugged and went back to being annoyed. "Small world."

"Um, what's your name?" He asked nervously. She glared daggers at him. 

"You guys nearly killed us, why should I tell you?" The tiny smile dropped off his face, and he looked down. Coraline couldn't help but pity him. "Coraline." She sighed. "Coraline Jones." The boy brightened. 

"Norman Babcock." He reached his hand out for her to shake. She chuckled as she did. "What?"  
"Babcock?" Norman turned bright red, shoving his hands into his pockets. "At least it's not as bad as WYBORN." She turned back to her mom's car. "Speaking of which," Wybie was getting out of the car and walking over to them.   
"Is everything alright?" He asked.   
"Yeah, it's all-" Norman was cut off by getting hit in the head with an empty Pitt soda can that had been hurled out the window by his sister, who had been skulking in the back seat. She hollered,  
"GET A RIDE WITH THEM!" Tires squealed, and the SUV took off, careening down the road andleaving Norman behind.   
"Wait!" Norman shouted. The car dissapeaeared on the horizon. Norman sighed. "What lunatics."


	3. Mystery Girl

Dipper clutched his book bag close to his chest. If there was one thing this book had taught him over the years, it was this: Trust No One. And sitting in a bus full of complete strangers, he wasn't about to start trusting them out of the blue. He felt a sudden sting on his shoulder. Mabel had slapped him.   
"Lighten up, Dippingsauce!" Ah, sibling telepathy. Of course Mabel knew exactly what he was thinking. He slouched back into his seat.   
"I'm just not as trusting as you, Mabel. Any one of these guys could be a monster in disguise, or after the journal! Maybe even both!" Mabel rolled her eyes at her brother's remark.   
"Weirdo." She stuck out her tongue.   
"How close are we, do you think?" He leaned across Mabel to look out the window.   
"About 2 minutes." She turned her head sideways to look at his watch. He sat back into his seat. After a moment, Mabel announced, "I'm bored!"  
"Hey bored, I'm Dipper!" He laughed as she shoved him playfully.   
"You know what I mean, derpface!"  
"I know, I know, me too."   
"Wait!" She pulled out her phone and squished their faces together, snapping a picture.   
"Whaaat are you doing?" Dipper rubbed his cheek after she released him.   
"Tumblr!"  
"You do realize there's no service here, right?"  
"Oh... Oh yeah..." She looked a bit saddened, but she cheered up in an instant. "Oh well!" She reached into their bag and pulled out her knitting needles and a ball of blue yarn. Dipper reached for the bag, only to have his hand slapped away. "Say the magic word."

"Abracadabra." Dipper said sarcastically, which Mabel responded to by throwing his sketchbook in his face. Which, probably not incidentally, was what he was reaching for. 

The bus screeched to a halt, and dumped the passengers. It was just the twins' luck that they had arrived with a group of tourists. A couple who might just be on their honeymoon based on their level of clingyness, a skinny teenage girl, a pregnant woman and her son, a girl with dark magenta pigtails who wouldn't stop staring at Dipper, that sweaty guy- wait, what? Dipper snapped his head over to look back at the girl with the pigtails, but she had vanished completely. He looked through the crowd for her, but no. It was like she was never there. A shiver ran down his spine, as he felt warm breath on the back of his neck. He clenched his teeth, whirled around and saw... Nothing. Was he just imagining it all? He turned back as he heard the front door open. 

"Welcome to the Mystery Shack, folks!"


	4. Reading Rights

Chapter 4- Reading Rights

"These are obviously very fake." Wybie said, looking up at a mounted boar head with a fake horn glued to its forehead.   
"Yeah, no kidding." Norman said, looking through something labeled 'ghost glass'.   
"You guys have no idea." Spoke up a boy who had been leaning against the wall, reading a book. "Four years ago, when I was twelve, Stan made me dress up in a wolf costume and turned me into an exhibit."   
"Stan?" Coraline set down the supposedly cursed machete she had been looking at.   
"Uh yeah, that guy." He pointed at the man leading the tours.   
"You're on first-name basis with the 'Man of Mystery'?" She made air quotes as she spoke. The boy shrugged.   
"He's my great-uncle." He put his book into his bag, extending his hand. "Dipper Pines." Coraline laughed, shaking it.   
"Coraline Jones. Welcome to the weird name club." She jerked her thumb at Wybie. "That there's Wyborn. We call him Wybie." Wybie waved. Dipper turned to Norman.   
"What's your name?"  
"Actually, it's Norman." He shrugged. "I guess I'm not part of the club. What?" He said when Dipper grimaced.   
"Ah, nothing. It's just... Well, that the last Norman I met tried to kidnap my sister."  
"Uh, yikes."  
"Don't worry. I'm not accusing you or anything." He looked out the doorway. "Speaking of my sister..." Mabel bounced happily into the room. "This is Mabel." Dipper gestured at her. She waved before turning to Dipper.   
"Grunkle Stan says that there's some unwanted guests outside that he wants you to take care of." This caused Dipper to groan loudly.   
"Fine." He left the room, grumbling. He swung the front door open, only to see no one. He sighed and began to close the door when he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see a figure disappear into the spooky part of the woods. He walked towards it as if in a trance, not even bothering to close the door behind him.   
Within a minute, Dipper was lost. Not a single tree looked familiar. He sighed and turned to go back, when he felt something speed by behind him. He turned, seeing nothing. He shook his head and turned back, when suddenly he was knocked off his feet. There was suddenly a younger-looking boy standing above him.   
"Huh?" Dipper said intelligently. "Who are you?" He managed. The girl with the pigtails suddenly appeared next to the boy, holding out a badge.   
"Lili Zanotto,"  
"And Razputin Aquato." The boy, Razputin said, pulling out a badge of his own. "And Michael Issac Pines, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."  
"If you do say anything, what you say can and will be used against you in a court of the psyche." Lili completed.   
"Wha- what? But I haven't done anything wrong! And how do you know my name? Not to mention my real name!"  
"Maybe not yet..." Razputin said, trailing off.   
"But you will. We're sure of it."  
"Where's your evidence??"  
"A vision." Razputin said before Lili slapped her hand over his mouth.   
"That's classified." Lili held her hand out, and Dipper suddenly found himself unable to move. He couldn't even speak. He stood against his will, walking towards the pair. A figure appeared out of nowhere, knocking Lili to the ground, which freed Dipper. His savior stood and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the area. That's when he could actually see her, and of course pinpointed her identity in an instant.   
"Jeez, thanks Mabel." She turned her head and smiled at him.   
"No problemo, bro-bro!"   
"Who were those weirdos?" Dipper jumped at the sudden Michigan accent. Coraline and her friends were right behind the twins. Dipper shook his head.   
"No idea."


	5. Yellow One-eyed Son of a B****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter title is sucky. Also I wrote this entire chapter whilst sitting on my ass in the bathroom doorway. (It's the only place with internet in my apartment) The title is based off of Azalel's nickname in SPN.

When the teens got back to the shack, it was late.  
"Do you know why those crazy people wanted you?" Wybie asked. Dipper shook his head 'no'.  
"Maybe they thought he was some sort of secret evil psychic that was going to kill everyone, so they wanted to lock him up before he could do any harm." Everyone stared at the speaker, Norman. He shrunk back at their gazes. "I-I mean, that's just a theory." He stuttered, nervously glancing at nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief as Dipper nodded.  
"That's a pretty solid theory, Norman. The guy did say he saw a vision. Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding!"  
"We should figure out what we'll do if we see those crazies again, though." Mabel said, folding her arms. Coraline yawned loudly.  
"I'd rather just sleep on it, actually." She stretched her arms out wide. "We need to grab our room at that motel, anyway." Mabel's smile faltered, but only a little.  
"Okay then! See you guys later!" 

After the twins were done with the Shack's after-closing cleanup, Mabel began to practically skip up the stairs. She stopped halfway up and turned back to Dipper, who hadn't moved. She furrowed her brow in concern.  
"Aren't you coming, Dipper?" He looked up, seeming to be snapped out of his thoughts by the mention of his name.  
"Uh, I'll be right up, Mabel. Just give me a sec." She nodded.  
"Okay!" She ran up into their room. Dipper, in fact, was not right up. He went to the roof, pacing and lost in thought. How had those two known his full name? Only his parents and Mabel knew that! How had they held him in place like that, and made him walk, no less! There was no blueish glow, and they didn't even seem to have amulets, like Gideon did. And how did Norman put everything together so quickly? It was almost as if he had been told. Something funny was up with that kid... And what's with his hair, any ways? And he keeps looking like someone was talking to him, even though no one was there. Dipper checked his watch and nearly fell over backwards from surprise. It was 12:00 pm already! He was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion.  
"Oh jeez... I just need to figure this crap out... How can I..." He closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him...  
"Hiya, Pine Tree!"  
Dipper awoke with a snap, sitting up straight in an instant. He looked around, trying to find that devil of a triangle.  
"Show..." He licked his lips, his throat horse. "Show yourself! Asshole!" He added, just for good measure.  
"Behind you!" The cheerful voice rang out. Dipper shot to his feet and whirled around, facing his adversary. What he saw was exactly NOT what he expected. Instead of a tiny, floating triangle with a top hat and a snappy bowtie, there was a... Man. With a top hat and a snappy bowtie. The man was tall, even taller than Dipper. Which was ridiculous, because both Mabel and Dipper were freakishly tall(Mabel was still a millimeter taller than Dipper). He had on a yellow suit, patterned with bricks on the sleeves and coattails. He had black, gloved hands curled around his cane. His right eye was covered with an eyepatch but the worst part about him was that *grin*. It sent a chill running down Dipper's spine.  
"B-B-B-Bill?" Dipper stammered.  
"Bingo! I guess Pine Tree isn't as dense as he looks!" Dipper scowled. "So!" Bill wrapped his arm around Dipper's shoulders. "First day back!" Dipper grabbed his arm and shoved it away.  
"What do you want from me, you... You uh..." Bill laughed at Dipper's obvious lack of words.  
"Relax, Pine Tree, I don't want any thing from you. Weeeellll, actually that's a lie." Dipper scowled again. "But all I want is your help!"  
"You. Want my. Help." Dipper raised an eyebrow.  
"Yeah! Hey, no one's perfect, Pine-"  
"Okay, stop calling me that!" Dipper interrupted. Bill sighed.  
"There's just something I'm DYING to do, but I can't do it on my own! Please say you'll help me?" Bill sounded kind of like a whiny five-year old as he said this.  
"Okay, let me get this straight. First, you break into my Uncle's mind and try to destroy it."  
"I wasn't trying to destroy it..." Bill mumbled.  
"THEN, you freaking POSSESS ME, ruin everything my sister had worked on, AND tried to destroy the journal. And now you're asking for my HELP!?"  
"... Maybe..."  
"Uuugh! What do you even want, anyway??" Dipper threw his arms out. Bill brightened.  
"I want to pull a prank on someone!" He grinned. Dipper was taken aback.  
"A- a prank?? On who? Why?" Bill suddenly looked sheepish.  
"Welllll... Your sister. But! It's kind of a revenge-prank! I'm not gonna hurt her or anything."  
"Uh-huh." Dipper said unbelieving.  
"Trust me. I don't lie. I swear it on..." He looked around. "Me!" He pointed at the stained glass window of Dipper and Mabel's attic bedroom.  
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that." He pointed at Bill. "What's up with that?" Bill looked down at himself.  
"Huh? Oh." He suddenly sounded really annoyed. "Some witch bitch cursed me to a single form. It just HAD to be a human one." He rolled his uncovered eye. "But let's not get sidetracked!" He grinned again. "We can help each other out here!" Dipper raised an eyebrow.  
"How so?"  
"Well, you help me with my one little prank, and I'll help you find the answer to your questions. And help you get those psychics off your tail."  
"Psychics?" Dipper echoed. Bill winked. Or rather, Dipper assumed he winked, rather than just blinking at him.  
"Consider that one a freebie, Pine-"  
"Call me that one more time, and I swear, I will sock you in the jaw."  
"... *Dipper*." Bill had to admit, he was impressed. Dipper had grown much more than physically since the last time he saw him. Well, in person, anyways. "So... Dipper. What do you think?"  
"I think you're an asshole." Dipper said instantly. "... But you promise not to hurt her?" Bill put one hand in the air, the other over his heart.  
"I promise not to lay a single of my fingers on your dear sister." Bill looked down at him. "So do we have a deal?"  
"... Yeah," Dipper's voice barley came out at a whisper, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah, I guess so." He nearly shoved his hands in his pockets until he saw Bill extend a flaming hand. Seeing Dipper's suspicious look, he rolled his eye.  
"We gotta shake on it. Sorry kid, it's actually a freaking rule." He looked pointedly at Dipper who groaned and shook Bill's hand. Bill shook his head. "Wow, do I know the most gullible kid alive or what?"  
"Huh?" He realized what he meant a split second later, when suddenly all he felt was Bill's cold flames circling his hand. And then, nothing. He was flung into the air, but didn't come back down. He floated in midair, horrified. He turned back to look at his body, only to find it staring up at him, looking smug.


	6. Buttons

The group arrived at the motel at 10:00 at night. Coraline yawned loudly, leaning against Wybie's back. She threw the door open.   
"I'm glad there are two separate bedrooms in here. I'll see you dorks later." She opened the door to the second bedroom door and walked inside, locking the door behind her.   
"Um... Where do we sleep? There's only one bed." Norman wondered aloud.   
"I can sleep on the ground." Wybie offered.   
"Uhhhh... You sure?"  
"Yeah! I've done it plenty of times before."  
"Why?"  
"Because I get too muddy to get on the bed!"   
"Um, if you're sure you're cool with that..." Halfway through Norman's sentence Wybie fell to the ground. Norman grabbed a pillow off of the bed and handed it to him. Wybie covered his face with it and stopped moving. Moving the pillow slightly, Norman saw that he was already asleep. Norman sighed, and went to the bed, lying down and going to sleep in his clothes.   
The two boys woke up to the sound of screaming. Wybie shot to his feet and banged on Coraline's door.   
"Coraline?? CORALINE??" He shouted. The screaming stopped, and they heard the lock in the door turn. The door swung open to reveal Coraline, looking down and with ragged breath. "Jonsey? Are you ok?" Wybie reached out to touch her shoulder, but she pushed his hand away.   
"Nightmare." She mumbled.   
"Coraline, what happened?" Norman stood up.   
"It was a nightmare! That's it! Can you quit pestering me?" She swung the front door open, glaring at the boys.   
"Uh, Jonsey, where are you going?"   
"To visit the only place and people we know in town."


	7. Norman

Chapter 7- Norman

"I won't let you go in there!" Dipper shouted, chasing after his body. Bill turned to face him, leaning against the attic door.  
"And why not?" Bill contorted Dipper's face into a sadistic smirk that Dipper would have never made on his own. It probably would have sent shivers down Dipper's spine, if he could feel anything at the moment.  
"B-because I know you'll hurt her." Dipper tried to sound confident. Bill laughed.  
"I'm only going to sleep, Dipper." Bill said his name sharply, as if proving a point just by saying it. "Thanks to Shooting Star, now I know that your body needs it." He grinned. "And then I can function properly, without your stupid noodle limbs failing on me." He opened the bedroom door. "So, goodnight!" He shut the door behind him. Dipper clenched his fists. He flew towards the door, intending to break it down. He clenched up, waiting for the impact... And nothing happened. He opened his eyes. He was standing- well, floating- inside Mabel and his bedroom. He turned around, and saw the door was untouched. That's when he remembered. He could go through solid objects now. He slapped himself in the face, then floated over to his bed, and saw his body sleeping peacefully. He sighed. He would float there all night, just to make sure Bill didn't even go close to Mabel.  
Mabel came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. She had come down without Dipper, because he was still sleeping. He had probably stayed up really late, so she was gonna let him sleep. It didn't seem like anyone else was awake, so she came down in her pajamas, which consisted of just a t-shirt that was three sizes too big. She yawned, opening the cupboard to pull out some cereal.  
"Hello?" Mabel stepped back in surprise. She quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants off of the top of the laundry bin and pulled them on before stepping out into the gift shop. Instead of some way-too-early tourists, she was surprised to see Coraline, Wybie, and Norman standing there.  
"Hey guys!" Mabel grinned and waved. "Whatcha doing here so early?" Coraline shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, but Norman spoke up first.  
"We kinda wanted to pay a visit to the only people we know in town!"  
"Key word people." Coraline put quipped. "Where's Dipper?"  
"Right here." The group turned to see what looked to be Dipper walking down the stairs, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Only one in the group saw the real Dipper, floating after his body. Dipper was taken aback as he seemed to make eye contact with Norman. Norman then quickly looked to Mabel.  
"Where's your bathroom?"  
"It's outside, actually. We have an outhouse." She pointed outside.  
"Thanks!" He opened the front door, but turned back and made eye contact with Dipper before leaving. Dipper narrowed his eyes and floated through the door after him. Norman wasn't heading towards their outhouse. He was standing there, looking forward. Dipper wasn't certain Norman was looking at him, until he waved. Dipper slowly raised his hand and waved back.  
"You... You can see me?"  
"Yeah. But... Why is there two of you?" He gestured to the Shack. "There's another you in there! And why are you a ghost?" Dipper took his hat off and nervously ran his fingers through his hair.  
"It's mostly because... Actually, no, it's COMPLETELY because I was an idiot. See, that's my actual body in there." Dipper pointed over at the Shack. "A demon tricked me. He pulled me out of my body and now he's wearing my ass around and pretending he's me!" Dipper flung his arms out wide.  
"Wait... A demon? Those are real?" Norman looked up at Dipper, then shook his head. "Wait, no, I see dead people. Of course demons are real."  
"You see dead people?"  
"I see you."  
"I'm not dead. I'm just... Disembodied?" Dipper shrugged. "I dunno."  
"Oh."  
"But your theory was right."  
"Huh?"  
"Your theory. Those two are psychics."  
"Oh. That wasn't actually a theory."  
"Huh?"  
"A ghost told me. I just didn't want to say because I thought you guys would freak or something."  
"Haha! Hardly. I see weirder stuff every day. But I think the reason they mistook me for a psychic... Was because of Bill!"  
"Bill?" Norman looked at him, confused, and Dipper realized he hadn't mentioned Bill by name before.  
"Bill Cipher. It's the name of the demon possessing me right now."  
"Oh. So, what do we do?" Norman asked, making Dipper sigh.  
"I don't know. Last time he possessed me, Mabel forced him out of my body by getting him to pass out from exhaustion. But now he's gotten sleep, so that's not a possibility." He looked down, looking defeated.  
"There's gotta be a way... We could try researching demonic possessions and stuff! There could always be a book on that kinda thing in the library or something..." Norman put his hand on his chin in a contemplative manner, but quickly dropped them as Dipper grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.  
"Norman! That's it! I have a- Wait, what?" He looked down at his hands that were on Norman's shoulders.  
"Uh..." Norman looked up at Dipper, confused. "How are you...?"  
"I don't know... Usually I just pass through stuff." The boys looked at each other awkwardly.  
"Well... That's a thing. But what were you saying?" Norman said, nudging Dipper's hands off of his shoulders.  
"Oh! Yeah! I have a book up in my room that talks about tons of this kind of thing!"  
"Well... How do we get to it? I can't exactly just go up to your room. Everyone's in the gift shop."  
"Knowing Bill, he probably already has it. You need to get it from him."  
"That sounds easy." Norman said sarcastically.  
"I'm sorry, Norman. But that book is incredibly important to me." Dipper relaxed as Norman put his hand on his shoulder.  
"It's okay, Dipper. I'll do it." He smiled reassuringly. 

"Ghost boy!" Norman started as someone shouted that as soon as he walked into the house. Dipper, No, Bill, uh, Bipper? Yeah. Bipper was pointing at him.  
"Um...?" Norman looked, around, concerned. Did he know?  
"Ohhhhhhhh! I get it!" Coraline grinned. "Your jeans!" Norman looked down at his jeans, seeing the ghosts doodled on them.  
"Oh... Oh (heh) yeah... My jeans..."  
"Dipper was just talking about how he has a nickname for everyone." Coraline said.  
"Already." Norman heard Mabel mutter. She was staring at Bipper suspiciously.  
"Yeah! Dragonfly," Bipper pointed at Coraline's hairclip, "Ghost boy," he pointed at Norman, "Skull," he pointed at Wybie's helmet, "and last but not least..." He leaned up against the chair Mabel was sitting on. "Shooting Star."


	8. Lunch Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, it's not actually a date in this chapter! Also, I apologize for how long this took. I've been trudging through the swamp of writer's block recently.

Things happened all at once. One second, everyone was just standing around, doing nothing. The next, Mabel and Bipper were rolling around, at each other's throat, Norman narrowly dodging them as he tried to pull the book away from Bipper. Coraline had been knocked over when Mabel had swung her chair at Bipper's head, initiating the fight, and Wybie stood on the counter, trying to avoid getting hit by the three. And boy, it was loud. Mabel and Bipper constantly smashing each other into walls and furniture, Mabel's near-incomprehensible screaming, Bipper's manic laughter, and Norman's loud grunts of pain anytime the two ran him into something(which was a lot). It was enough to bring Stan into the room.   
"Just what the hey is going on here?" He yelled. But no one heard him, because at that moment, Coraline had pulled out the biggest hammer any of them had seen out of seemingly nowhere and smashed it into the ground. Stan opened his mouth- probably to demand she pay for the damage- when they saw that it hadn't left a mark. The group stared at her, shocked.   
"Are we done here?" She glared at the group. Norman swallowed and nodded timidly. "Good." She dropped her hammer into the circular purse at her hip. "Then I'm leaving." And with that, she grabbed Wybie's elbow, spinning him around as she stalked out the front door.   
"Yeah, probably a good idea..." Norman mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself and walking out as well. He walked all the way to the diner before Dipper finally spoke.   
"It's too bad you didn't get the journal."  
"Actually..." Norman reached up his hoodie, pulling out Journal #3 and placing it at the table as he sat down.   
"Wha-- How? I didn't see you!" Norman flipped it open and shrugged.   
"So what am I looking for?"   
"Maybe an entry on ghosts. Or maybe the one on Bill. I'm not sure." He leaned over the journal, scanning the pages as Norman flipped through them.   
"And what are you gonna have, young man?" Dipper and Norman looked up to see a woman standing at their table.   
"Uh, just a water for now, thanks." The lady smiled and walked away.   
"Who's she?" Norman heard Dipper say.   
"Uh, the waitress I guess?"   
"No no, I know Lazy Susan. Who's she?" When Norman turned, he saw an eleven year old girl sitting across from him. She had black hair brushing her shoulders, and she wore a pilgrim-esqe dress.   
"Oh. Hi Aggie." The girl smiled and waved. She pushed herself forward and leaned over the journal, trying to read it.   
"What is this?" She looked up at Norman. Norman looked to Dipper, as he wasn't exactly sure how to explain it.   
"Well, it's... Hmm." Dipper rested his head on his hand. When he thought of what to say, he opened his arms as if he was imitating a T-Rex trying to offer someone a hug. "It's a book I found. It explains all of the weird shit that goes on in this town. And trust me, there's a lot of weird shit." Norman flipped through the pages absentmindedly.   
"So where do we start?"


	9. Thor-Coraline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I really couldn't think of a good chapter name.

"What the hell was that Jonsey???" Wybie ran after his friend after she had made her grand exit. "In all the years I've known you, I did not know about THAT." He frantically pointed at her purse, knowing that was where that giant hammer came from. She sighed and stopped in her tracks, causing Wybie to nearly run into her. She reached into her back and pulled the hammer back out. Only this time it was big enough to be a doll's. She turned and tossed it to Wybie. He caught it, but buckled under its weight. "What is this, Mjiolnir*??" She shook her head, picking the hammer back up and helping him up.   
"What the heck is Mjiolnir?"   
"Well, it's an enchanted hammer from Norse Mythology, wielded by the God of Thunder, Thor." Coraline shook her head again. "What?"  
"See, this is why you never get laid."

As soon as everyone was gone, Stan marched over to the 'twins' and pushed them apart.   
"What the heck has gotten into you two?" He spat.   
"Nothing gotten into me, Sta-"  
"Oh there sure is something in you, you piece of-"  
"Sister, you surely aren't going to say what I think you-"  
"SHUT THE FUCK UP. I'M NOT YOUR SISTER." Mabel suddenly screamed. The two were taken aback by her sudden outburst. Stan stared for a moment before it registered, and he took a few steps away from Bipper. Bipper sighed and snapped his fingers, causing Stan to pass out.   
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel knelt at his side and glared daggers at Bipper. "What did you do?" She shouted. He smirked and lifted her off of her feet.   
"The same thing I'm going to do to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I forgot how to spell it.


	10. Thor-Coraline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I really couldn't think of a good chapter name.

"What the hell was that Jonsey???" Wybie ran after his friend after she had made her grand exit. "In all the years I've known you, I did not know about THAT." He frantically pointed at her purse, knowing that was where that giant hammer came from. She sighed and stopped in her tracks, causing Wybie to nearly run into her. She reached into her back and pulled the hammer back out. Only this time it was big enough to be a doll's. She turned and tossed it to Wybie. He caught it, but buckled under its weight. "What is this, Mjiolnir*??" She shook her head, picking the hammer back up and helping him up.   
"What the heck is Mjiolnir?"   
"Well, it's an enchanted hammer from Norse Mythology, wielded by the God of Thunder, Thor." Coraline shook her head again. "What?"  
"See, this is why you never get laid."

As soon as everyone was gone, Stan marched over to the 'twins' and pushed them apart.   
"What the heck has gotten into you two?" He spat.   
"Nothing gotten into me, Sta-"  
"Oh there sure is something in you, you piece of-"  
"Sister, you surely aren't going to say what I think you-"  
"SHUT THE FUCK UP. I'M NOT YOUR SISTER." Mabel suddenly screamed. The two were taken aback by her sudden outburst. Stan stared for a moment before it registered, and he took a few steps away from Bipper. Bipper sighed and snapped his fingers, causing Stan to pass out.   
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel knelt at his side and glared daggers at Bipper. "What did you do?" She shouted. He smirked and lifted her off of her feet.   
"The same thing I'm going to do to you."

*I forgot how to spell it.


	11. Dormant Star

Bipper stood there a moment, staring down at Shooting Star's sleeping figure. He knelt down, sliding his arms under her to lift her up. When he stood, she was a bit heavier than he expected. They had grown a lot since he had last visited the two. He shook his head. He would be commenting on that every minute if he kept this up. He approached the 'Employees Only' door, pushing it open with his hip, then climbed up the stairs to the twins' bedroom. He laid her down onto her bed, sitting by her side. For a few moments, all was still, until the light itch of curiosity in the back of his head turned into a burning, scratching feeling of curiosity. He moved to touch her forehead, to enter her dream, when the door was slammed open. He didn't even need to turn around to be able to tell who he was. Bill had dealt with him one too many times. 

"Stanley."


	12. Plvv Qruwkzhvw

"What's up, Poindexter?" Norman snapped the book shut and hid it behind his back as he heard her speak. Coraline leaned against the wall, drinking a can of Pitt Cola. "Funny bumping into you here. Whatcha reading, some nerd thing?"  
"Uh, uh, it's, uh, nothing!" Coraline raised an eyebrow.   
"Reeeeally now?" Norman held his breath. "Alright." She shrugged and walked past him, heading back to the motel. Norman let out a big sigh, and kept moving towards the shack, slowing only when Wybie ran past him. 

 

Coraline swiped her keycard in the lock, and pushed open the motel door. The soda can slipped out of her fingers, hitting the ground and spilling out onto the ground.   
"Jonsey, what's- oh..." He slowed, stopped behind her as they both stared into the room. It had been totaled. Clothes and sheets were strewn everywhere, the desk had been overturned, and bits of the carpet were burnt. Coraline tentatively walked inside. "Jonsey!" Wybie hissed, before looking nervously looking around and following her in. She pushed the bathroom door open, and the damage was the same, if not worse. Pipes had been pulled out of the sink, and the shower curtain was practically ashes.   
"What could have caused this?" Coraline whispered softly. There was only one room left to check. The two crept towards the door to Coraline's room. Coraline reached into her purse, pulling out and cocking a pistol.   
"Why do you have these things?" Wybie hissed through his teeth.   
"Shh!" She covered his mouth. 'On three.' She mouthed. 

'One,'

'Two,'

'Three.'

She kicked open the door, swinging the pistol up ahead of her. "FREEZE!" The person in the room jumped up, his hands shooting in the air. Coraline crept towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder and turning him to face her, gun pointed square in the middle of his face. "Ugh. You again." She glowered. Raz chuckled nervously. "What are you doing here?"   
"Well, I, uh," Raz looked around anxiously. Coraline sighed, before grabbing his am. He let out a sound of surprise and tried to get away, but she had an iron grip.   
"Wybie, get the rope."

 

"Do you think we took a wrong turn?" Norman looked around the street. To any other person, it would be near empty. Not to Norman, of course. He had recently noticed that Gravity Falls was one of the most crowded places he had been, at least ghost-wise. Which was incredibly creepy, when you think about it. He shuddered, thinking, just possibly, there could some kind of crazy axe-murder, or maybe a big bomb had been dropped on the town a long time ago. Although there were demons, so there was always the possibility of other monsters exist too. He nearly shuddered again, when someone grabbed onto the back of his jacket and pulled him into the adjacent alleyway. 'This is it,' He thought. 'I'm gonna get murdered back here, or worse.' He pressed himself against the wall behind him, trying to make himself as small as possible.   
"Hey." He heard a girl's voice, not angry, not malicious, just a simple, 'hey'.   
"H-hello?" Norman stuttered. He jumped as the girl grabbed is hand, pulling him out of the other end of the alley. He could see her clearly now, and she had pixie-cut straight blonde hair, a llama sweater, and jeans. She turned and grinned at Norman.   
"I'm Pacifica. Pacifica Northwest."  
"Norman Babcock. Nice to meet you." She put her hand on his shoulder.   
"Hey, this might be a weird question, but do you know anyone named Dipper Pines?" Norman stepped back in surprise, and she raised her eyebrows. "So you do!" A playful grin spread on her face.   
"I-I never said that!" He looked around nervously, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders.   
"Dude, I'm a body language master. Aswellasamasterinprettymuchallthingscombativebutthat'snotthepointhere."She didn't even take a breath between words. As if a response to Norman's blank stare, she added, "Llamas are nature's greatest warriors."   
"And that has anything to do with what?"  
"Exactlylet'sgo!" She snatched his hand and took off running.


	13. The Author

"Step away from her, Cipher." Stanford stepped towards him, gun at the ready. Bill looked over his shoulder, smirking softly. He stood, feet not making a sound as they touched the ground. He turned to face him with open arms.  
"Why not, Stanford? Are you afraid I might do something to her? That I might hurt her?" He acted offended, but it was obvious he was enjoying making the man upset.  
"I know you Cipher, and I know you will." His grip tightened on the gun. Bipper gasped, then his expression was replaced with his regular smirk.  
"Stanford, I'm offended!" He glanced at the gun, then back at him. "And you do realize shooting me will just kill your grandson, right?" Stanford glared, then dropped his gun to the ground and straightened up.  
"Fine. But let by grandkids go."  
"Why should I?" Bill chuckled. He spread his arms out. "Everything is going according to plan. I don't see why I should."  
"And what is that plan?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I give you the impression I was monologuing? But... Since you asked so nicely, maybe I'll give you a hint. See, Dipper here," He laid a hand on his chest, "is a big part of it. Shooting Star here is just an added bonus!"  
"Let her go then!"  
"Did you hear a word I just said, old man? She's mine now."  
"I could pull you out of that body right now, you oversized tortilla chip-"  
"But you can't!" Bill's yellow eyes had darkened to a deep blood red, his slit pupils becoming sharper. "You don't know how, Sixer. You're just big talk. And I think you've overstayed your welcome." He snapped, and Stanford crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Bipper's eyes returned to normal, and he walked back over to Mabel. "Now," he placed his two front fingers and thumb onto her forehead. "Where were we?"


	14. Dreams

"So... You're planning on torturing me, right?" Raz hardly even struggled against the ropes that tied him to the chair. Coraline rolled her eyes.  
"Dude, what kinda sadists do you think we are?" Raz shrugged in response. Coraline sighed in exasperation. "We tied you up cuz we didn't want you running. We have some Q n' A for ya. First of all, why did you go after Dipper?" She sat down on the desk, one leg resting on the bed. Raz sighed.  
"About a month ago, I had a vision. Shut up!" Coraline had snorted, starting to laugh. "I get them sometimes. Most psychics do. But anyways, in the vision I saw him, standing on a hill with people scattered at his feet, either cowering in fear or just plain dead. Then he blanketed the entire world in his blue flames. And he laughed the whole time. I told Lili and we decided we would put a stop to his plan, hopefully before it even started." His face was completely serious, and all teasing thoughts were wiped from Coraline's head.  
"Are you... Are you serious?" She said quietly.  
"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Mabel smacked her head against the wall. Bill had entered her dream, manipulated her, then locked her up! She was currently standing in the middle of the room, regretting the fact that she had just smacked her head against the wall. She glared at the handcuffs binding her wrists, before flopping over onto her back and trying to push them off with her foot. She shouted in pain, abandoning that bad idea.  
"Think, think, think, think, think-" her eyes snapped open. That was it. Think. She squeezed her eyes shut again, visualizing something to cut the chains. She tried an axe, a saw, a sword, a machete, a gun, heck, even a chainsaw! She flopped to the ground, defeated and exhausted. She yawned really loudly, and drifted off to sleep. Of course, sleeping worked differently in the dreamscape. It wasn't like inception, where you would go deeper. No, there was only one dreamscape. Instead, the room around her melted away, replaced by the dream her mind projected. It was a memory, from when she and Dipper were about six. Mabel had thought that Tommy - a boy from their school at the time - had stolen her teddy. Mabel had pinned him down and was yelling at him, when Dipper came up behind her and gave her the bear. It turned out that Jorge, who had been eyeing it all week, had taken it. For some reason, Mabel never really forgot the thing Dipper said next.

"Brain over Brawn."

Mabel snapped awake, and the dream before her evaporated.

Brain over brawn.

Mabel squeezed her eyes shut again, and felt a heavy chunk of metal drop into her hands. She peeked, and saw a golden key resting in her palms. She tried it in the handcuff's keyhole, and they fell off of her wrists with a loud clunk. She snapped her head up, looking at the door, hoping that Bill hadn't heard and come to investigate. After a minute, she shot to her feet and ran to the door. Luckily, the key she had apperated worked on the door's lock as well. She threw open the door and sprinted to freedom.

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the wattpad version: http://www.wattpad.com/story/26498084-mystery-kids


End file.
